When Hezekiah was king of Judah, the Assyrians sent a representative to warn Judah that they were about to get blasted by Assyria. Rabshakeh, the delegate, taunted the people with threats, made fun of their king and their God, and then offered them the opportunity to choose to surrender peacefully. This was his proposal: Continue to eat and drink and enjoy life “until I come to take you away to a land like your own, a land of grain and new wine, and land of bread and vineyards…” Sounds tempting. It sounds like he’s offering them something wonderful, a fabulous trade. But his flattery doesn’t co-exist very well with his threats. What is, however, neatly wrapped in the flowery promises is this nugget of truth: “Until I come and take you away.” The key phrase shows that Rabshakeh is not presenting them a wonderful opportunity; rather, he plans to take them prisoner, to hold them captive in HIS land, a land that is fabulous FOR HIM, a land that is LIKE theirs but IS NOT THEIRS.This is the same ploy the enemy uses today. He appeals to what we want to hear in the moment. Like Judah wanted peace and provision, we, too, have needs and desires through which the enemy baits us to do his bidding. He promises fulfillment, happiness, love, and supply for our deepest yearnings and greatest fears. Yet, what he offers isn’t ours to hold. If we reach for it, we grasp air. His promises are empty and aren’t ours to attain. It’s HIS satisfaction, HIS delight, HIS purpose that is achieved. We, on the other hand, are but his prisoners, taken where we can be subjected to his gloating, enslaved to His will.So what is his will?

(Want the rest of the scoop and the Tip/Tidbit for the week? Click below)

As has always been his goal, he wants to elevate himself at our expense. John 10 uses terms “steal, kill, and destroy,” thus, taking away the abundant and everlasting life Jesus provides. He doesn’t like our dependency on and fellowship with God. He didn’t like it in Eden, and he didn’t like it in Judah. We know this because part of Rabshakeh’s taunts were the following: “But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the Lord our God’ is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away…?” Again, the real truth slips into the conversation through a few, veiled words. To recognize them, we must understand the backdrop. High places were not places where Judah worshiped the Most High God. High places were sacred grounds devoted to gods of the heathen nations. These gods were DEMONS! However, Rabshakeh says the high places belong to the Lord God. Now, when someone serves a false god, a devil, that person is not speaking words of life and truth; he is speaking under the influence of the enemy. Rabshakeh first lays claim to the high places belonging to GOD, then, in essence, he adds, “Because Hezekiah tore down the high places, you don’t have a god to defend you.” What isn’t being said is the key: Satan is laying claim to being THE God to be worshiped, and he doesn’t like having those high places torn down!!Since Hezekiah had torn down the high places and established the One True God as the Sovereign over the nation, Satan wasn’t receiving worship in Judah. Therefore, his plan was to put Judah where they WOULD worship him. He’d subject the people to idol worship in Assyria, a place that DID invite demonic strongholds through the gods elevated in that area. Crush. Rob. Take. Annihilate. Decimate. So that he could be in charge.In the same way, Satan is never going to be comfortable with our place as God’s children. His greatest desire is to BE God and to have our worship. In his attempts to attain this position, he works tirelessly against us, using subtlety and fear to draw us into his plan. He does this because he lacks the power to MAKE us do his bidding. We have to CHOOSE. And we’d never purposely choose destruction. Therefore, we have to believe the lies rather than the truth nestled among them when Satan speaks to our minds. That’s what permits him to work his plan against us.Like Judah’s hope, our answer doesn’t lie in our own strength but in God’s. Judah didn’t respond to Rabshakeh and his threats; instead, they turned to God. In humility, Hezekiah and his people prayed, and God gave them a promise of deliverance. Rabshakeh returned to Assyria and his taunts were reduced to threatening letters. Again, Hezekiah bent prayerful knees to God, and again God replied, “I have heard…he shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor build a siege mound against it. By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and he shall not come into this city…For I will defend this city to save it…” And God did. The angel of the Lord went into the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 people. When the Assyrian king saw it, he hurried home and remained there until his sons murdered him in the temple of his god. (Notice the plan Satan has—even for his servants?)So what can we learn from this?1. The enemy wants to be God.2. The enemy wants Lordship of our lives.3. The enemy uses threats/fear and temptation to draw us into his will, enabling him to kill, steal and destroy in our lives.4. We have a victory plan: Avoid engaging the enemy on his terms. Go, instead, to God and voice humble prayer to Him. Listen to what God has to say. Choose to consistently trust God’s Word, even when the hour looks bleak. Wait and watch as God unfolds His promise.Tip/Tidbit: What tactic does Satan most often use to accomplish his plan in your life: Threats or Temptation? 2 Corinthians 2:11 says, “…we are not ignorant of (Satan’s) devices.” Today, take courage in these truths: You are not the victim; Satan is the powerless one, and you have a God who is fighting for you.

Leave a Reply.

A little about Tips and Tidbits

Compiled of random content, this blog style suits me best with its varied topics, multi-length posts, and contributions from other people. Hope you enjoy these tips and tidbits as I share the diverse, authentic me.